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What’s in a Feature? – Your Guide to Slot Bonus Rounds

GOSU GUIDE

What Is a Slot Bonus Feature?

If you’ve tried your hand at crypto slots before, you will no doubt note that some come with unique features. In most cases, these will be the so-called video slots. Classic slots, such as fruit machines, seldom tend to come with added goodies. We often call these slot features “bonus rounds” or “bonus features”. Each game may have its own array of bonuses, and the sheer number of them (coupled with the fact that they vary from slot to slot) can leave newbies confused. Not to worry, though. If you’re new to betting on slot machines with bitcoin, allow us to introduce you to the most offered crypto slot bonus features and explain how they work.

Scatters, Bonus Symbols, or Randomly Triggered Rounds?

Before looking at individual features, it is worth exploring what triggers bonus rounds and special features. In most cases, there will be three catalysts in a typical bitcoin slot. They include the following:

  • Scatter Symbols: These get their name because they can appear anywhere on the reels. They are, in effect, scattered. You’ll often need three scatter symbols to trigger a bonus round. In most cases, that feature will be a free spin bonus.
  • Bonus Symbols: These work differently than scatters. You need to land them on specific reels to trigger their features. For instance, perhaps you need to land them on the first and fifth reels simultaneously. Alternatively, you may need them to land on the first, third, and fifth reels or three consecutive reels. Either way, you’ll need a specific number on specific slot reels to trigger the relevant feature.
  • Randomly triggered: These require no bonus or scatter symbols at all. Instead, the bonus feature begins entirely at random. This will normally be the case in crypto slots that carry a wealth of bonus rounds.

Now that you know how to trigger bonus rounds let’s look at some of the most common special features in bitcoin slots.

Free Spin Bonus

The classic free spin bonus is gambling 101 and is the flagship feature in most slots. It is normally triggered by scatters, but some slots may have different modes of activation. Either way, you will normally receive a handful of spins (the total varies from game to game), allowing you to play for free. While in some BTC slots, that is about as good as it gets, in others, you’ll pocket all manner of additional goodies to enjoy. These may include multipliers, extra wilds or extra reels and lines. Some slots allow you to “retrigger” the bonus round, while others won’t.

Click and Win Rounds

The second most common type of slot feature is the click and win round. Some sources may refer to these as pick and win modes, but they amount to the same thing. The basic logic here is that you’re going to be greeted by a wealth of symbols or icons. You will get to pick one or more to land a cash prize or free spins. There will usually be a booby trap, known as a “collect symbol”, in most cases. This will terminate the round. Some of these click-and-win rounds may span multiple tiers, or they could be a one-round feature.

Base Game Modifiers

While not strictly a bonus round, as such, base game modifiers are still worth a mention. In most cases, they will be triggered at random. When they are, something will change in the base game (not the bonus round). This may see symbols upgraded to offer better prizes, more paylines become available, or you may get the ability to win in both directions. Extra wilds or a missing scatter (that you may need to trigger a bonus), symbol shuffles, and many more goodies could also be won as base game modifiers.

Progressive Jackpot Bonus

Progressive jackpot bonus rounds are usually triggered at random, although even some of the biggest BTC slots require bonus symbols to trigger them. In this case, they will be known as jackpot symbols. Once activated, you may get to spin a wheel to win a cash prize, engage in a click and win round, or anything in-between. Some bonus rounds guarantee a progressive jackpot prize, and some may offer a consolation prize if you aren’t successful.

Instant Cash Prize

Again, the instant cash prize isn’t really a bonus round, per se, but it is common, so it is worth covering here. These will almost always be triggered at random. Once activated, you are likely to see a small sum of money added to your balance without the need for a click and win feature. In some slots, money may appear on symbols on the screen. Alternatively, it could just be a random cash prize, although obviously weighted against your total bet value.

Trail Bonuses

Trail bonuses are an old-school type of slot bonus. These can sometimes be found in classic slots and fruit machines (known as pub fruities) making those games more exciting. In most cases, you will get to “roll a die” to move around a trail, much like you would move forward in a board game. You will often be able to pocket cash prizes and free spins as you journey along the trail but watch out – there are usually booby traps that determine the bonus round here, too.

Re-Spin Bonuses

Re-spin bonuses are becoming more common in the online casino world. Some appear as standard in the base game, such as Cascading Reels, Tumbling Reels, and Avalanche slots. Cluster Pays and MegaWays games offer re-spin rounds as standard. However, some slots utilize these as bonus rounds. They may be triggered by the appearance of a symbol or delivered at random. Either way, you will get to spin the reels of a slot to try and bag wins. In most cases, the more wins you chain together in succession, the longer the re-spin round will go on. It is not uncommon to see sticky wilds and even multipliers such as Rolling Reels appear here. In most cases, once you fail to win, re-spin bonuses end, making them considerably different from free spin rounds.

How Do These Features Work?

All is not lost if you don’t understand how these modes work based on their descriptions above. We’ve got three great pieces of advice for you. First, check the slot’s paytable. This will often tell you exactly how they work. Secondly, you could choose to read our slot reviews, where we explain them in-depth. Lastly, you can head to your casino (or the software provider’s website) and play the game in demo mode. This allows you to play crypto slots for free and get some practice playing with the features before you wager your cryptocurrencies betting on the game for real money stakes and prizes.

Which Features Regularly Appear in Crypto Slots?

Don’t expect to find all these slot special features in every BTC game you come across. Of course, there are bitcoin slots out there that have five, six, seven features, or even more. However, most will typically offer two – a free spin round and a click and win mode. If you want to learn exactly what bonus rounds and special features a crypto slot has to offer, don’t hesitate to check out our slot reviews today.

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